The Ghost Program
|style="width:16%;font-size:85%;color:#000"| *Stratus *Home |style="width:16%;font-size:85%;color:#000"| *Nation Creation *NC Land List |} Ghost training is viewed upon as intensely harsh by those who are aware of the Ghost Program's existance. However these individuals agree that it is required, if the Vasari Empire really wants the ghosts ready and well-equipped to handle tasks. Conscription Theoretically all ghosts are trained from infancy. It is mandatory for children born within the Vasari Empire to have a Psi Aptitude (PA) Profile taken within nine months of birth. A score of 2.50 or higher results in recruitment into the program. Naturally the ideal of universal testing was impossible and it is possible for Imperial Space Colonial World children to escape detection. In rare cases, children with socially powerful parents could also escape. Cover stories are invented to obfuscate the fate of conscripted children. Some parents are informed their children are being taken to "special schools", and sometimes this is followed by reports the child had "died in an accident." Wranglers PA Profiles aside, telepaths who could be useful to the Vasari armed forces (either as ghosts or performing other roles) are usually tracked down by "wranglers", mildly psionic agents whose powers are generally only useful for finding other telepaths at close range. They can use equipment to help them in their search, but the equipment is itself limited. Psionics Psionic Powers Ghosts have the ability to read minds but generally do not have the ability to block thoughts; ghosts find each other very easy to read. Ghosts and weaker psychics can detect other sources of psionic power (if they exist within other nations). With the assistance of their hostile environment suit, which ghosts can channel energy through artificial muscle fiber, they can enhance their physical capabilities. A cloaking device and requisite power supply are frequently issued as well; the device requires psionic energy as a component. Limiters The Vasari Empire uses several forms of neural processing in order to limit the otherwise dangerous powers of the ghosts from being used against the Vasari Empire herself. These include; *Aggression inhibitors, implants which prevent ghosts from attacking their superiors *Psi-screens, a device which can be worn to protect one's mind from mind-reading, also a ghost training device *Memory wipe (successor to the psychic dampener) Ghosts are usually silent and are generally loners, in part due to their lack of memory of past events. This serves their masters well—the harder it is for ghosts to form relationships, the fewer distractions they have to deal with. Ghosts are expected to remain impassive and forbidden to use their mind-reading powers, but they sometimes accidentally pick up surface thoughts. Combat Training In physical training, ghosts are trained in target shooting, close-quarters combat (martial arts and possibly other techniques) and vehicular expertise. Ghosts are also trained to move quickly and are desensitized to combat. Artificial environments and simulations are also common, which include; *Artificial High Gravity Environment *Scenario A11-X93: The most popular exercise in the ghost training regimen, commonly referred to by trainees as "Nukes Away". In this scenario, ghosts practice a variety of covert infiltration techniques while gaining the technical knowledge necessary for the proper guidance of field-standard tactical nuclear weapons. Since nuclear weaponry is too expensive to be used in live fire training, the exercise is performed using an extremely lifelike holo-projection simulation. The competition between the teams of ghosts can be extremely intense, and all too commonly recruits are seen spending what little leisure time they have inside the simulation, honing their skills." Ghost Equipment All ghosts are given a hostile environment suit and may undergo surgery to replace their eyes with ocular implants. Their weapons of choice include: *AGR-14 rifle *BOSUN FN92 sniper rifle *C-10 rifle *C-20A rifle *E-11 lockdown device *Torrent SR-8 shotgun Psi Index The Psi Inex is a system used by the Vasari Empire to measure the psionic ability of humans, a PA Profile having to be established within nine months of birth for all children born within the domain of the Vasari Empire. People with low levels of psychic power can often detect its use, and some can even resist telepathy. A PI rating of 4.5 is too low to reliably project thoughts, and a person with that low a rating is not referred to as a "teep". Psi Index Category:Nation Creation Category:Military Category:Current Nation Creation Military